Siege of Nanyang (198)

The Siege of Nanyang occurred in 198 AD when Cao Cao laid siege to his rival Zhang Xiu's base at Nanyang.

Background
In the spring of 198 AD, Zhang Xiu, with the support of Liu Biao, rebelled in Nanyang and Jiangling, defeated Cao Hong several times, and ravaged the nearby countryside. Cao Cao left Liu Bei in charge of Xuzhou and headed to Xuchang, where he had heard that Dong Zhuo's former generals Li Jue and Guo Si had been murdered by their subordinates Duan Wei and Wu Xi, respectively. Having won the favor of Emperor Xian of Han, Cao Cao received his blessing to lead an expedition to subdue Zhang Xiu's uprising.

Siege
Zhang Xiu wrote to Liu Biao for help before leading out his troops with his generals Lei Xu and Zhang Xian. After Zhang Xiu taunted Cao Cao, Cao Cao sent out Xu Chu to deal with Zhang Xiu. Xu Chu slew Zhang Xian, and Zhang Xiu's troops were pursusd to the walls of Nanyang, which was closely besieged. Cao Cao's commanders filled the moat with earth and built a mound from which they could look into the city, and Zhang Xiu's strategist Jia Xu then advised him that Cao Cao meant the mound as a feign and that he would really attack from the other side of the city. Zhang Xiu's forces defeated Cao Cao's surprise assault, slaughtering and totally defeating his troops. Liu Biao then prepared an army to cut off Cao Cao's retreat, but he was distracted by news that Sun Ce had encamped at Hukou. His advisor Kuai Yue advised him that dealing with Cao Cao was more important, so Liu Biao moved to Anzhong to block Cao Cao and left Huang Zu to protect Jing Province. Cao Cao's army leisurely marched to Wan Castle to make sacrifices in honor of the Battle of Wan Castle, and Cao Cao then prepared to deal with Liu Biao's army at Anzhong, despite having lost 50,000 soldiers at Nanyang, including Lu Qian and Yu Jin, who had been wounded.